I had my Raven experience several years back while in a state park just
north of Moab Utah. My wife and I were mostly alone sitting on a bench near
a very steep and deep canyon fall off just enjoying the scene and watching a
raven play in the updrafts. He noticed us and started doing aerial maneuvers
right in front of us. If we turned away he/she would call out as if to get
us to pay attention to his antics. The raven is one of our most favored
birds to the point where we commissioned a metal artist known for his bird
sculptures to make a slightly larger than life raven sculpture.

I've read in several places that they are reputed to be among the smartest
of birds.

But a gorgeous one! I counted the parks I've been to in North America
and

there are 7 of them.. (two of the same park, amazingly - YOHO) including
mine, of course...

Love the caribou at Denali, Ken - and Brian's Pinnacles leaps out at
me...

but so much prettiness throughout.
My personal favorite is for a very personal reason.. (in addition to it
being a lovely shot)
I think I know those ravens at the Painted Desert!
WHen did you take the photo, Jan?
I named the one in front "Sam" .. Ok, maybe it isn't Sam and his wife,

but I made friends with a Raven on the blue mesa overlook in the late
80's
- He was stealing crackers from me then I couldnt resist (what you are
not
supposed to do) feeding him. A couple of years later, nearing the
overlook

, I saw a raven overhead and called out to him..

damned if he didn't come in for a landing, right in front of me... much
to

the delight of RIchard's daughter who was traveling with us.
While it is unlikely Sam recognized me and was just looking for anyone to
give him a handout, the ranger
said it was entirely possible it was the same guy, as ravens settle in to
favorite places and also mate for life.
I took this photo of Sam in 1990 - and it got dolled up for inclusion in
my book of poetry..
https://annsan.smugmug.com/Works-in-Print/Books-in-Print/The
-Part-of-Fortune/i-SHfm4CB/A
If you are curious about the verse I wrote for him ...
https://books.google.com/books?id=iLbJDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA56&lpg=
PA56&dq=The+Raven+at+Blue+Mesa+Ann+Sanfedele&source=bl&ots=
4M_RE5tkLa&sig=dfweoZ6DtuAAP7vuibaNg3H66js&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0a
hUKEwjk6tC0nPTXAhUSkeAKHeW-AUEQ6AEIKzAA#v=onepage&q=The%20Ra
ven%20at%20Blue%20Mesa%20Ann%20Sanfedele&f=false
I forgot how to do tinyurl .. sorry

sorry for the outpouring of emotion... Sam was an important part of my
life

ann
On 12/5/2017 4:47 PM, Brian Walters wrote:

G'day all,
A late surge of submissions got us up to a reasonable number - all very
good,
showing the diversity of National Parks in several countries.
View here:
http://pug.komkon.org/
(you may need to refresh your browser if you see the previous gallery
there).
Note: The automated submission process usually works well but it's not
infallible. So, if you made a submission and you don't see it in the
gallery,
let me know.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
First up for 2018: 'Shadow'.
Full Submissions Guidelines here:
http://pug.komkon.org/general/autosubmit.html
You can submit here:
http://pug.komkon.org/submit/
Cheers
Brian